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Tampa International Airport (TPA) continues to connect Tampa with the rest of the world. The airport announced last week that American Airlines would launch a new direct route to the west coast destination.
The best news? The service is daily. That’s right, you can go to Angels town any day of the week. TPA’s brand new art installations, Shoppes at Bayshore area, TPA2Go food service and efficient check-in and security processes make it one of the leading airports in the country.
This new non-stop route to Los Angeles is just the finishing touch to the proverbial travel cake. Those interested in booking a trip can do so online with American Airlines. One-way tickets start at $ 259.
TPA’s exciting travel news does not end there.
TPA adds major domestic and international routes
Tampa Bay’s connection to mainland Europe returns in December with the launch of a new non-stop service to Frankfurt, Germany aboard Eurowings Discover, Lufthansa Group’s new leisure carrier, according to a statement on TPA’s website.
This follows the latest news that COPA Airlines would resume flights to Panama from the airport.
Low cost airline Frontier Airlines announced five new direct routes from Tampa International Airport to Bloomington, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Green Bay, Wisconsin; New York-LaGuardia and Rochester, New York. With the addition of this new service, Frontier now offers 26 direct Tampa routes to a wide range of popular destinations.
To celebrate the new service, Frontier is offering introductory prices starting at $ 39.
You better also get ready for a massive Flamingo arriving at the airport next year.
What to read next:
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Wild Eden Lounge debuts in Downtown Tampa
The iconic Floridan Palace Hotel is for sale in downtown Tampa
Gangchu brings high energy vibes and Koreatown eats to Tampa


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Viral NFT maker app with 700,000 new wallets generated on the NEAR blockchain, is officially launching.
Powered by Primelab, NFT-Maker-App has officially launched on the NEAR protocol. Leading with a seamless user experience, NFT-Maker-App aims to take on mainstream audiences by making it accessible for anyone to create, mint, and share NFT’s on the NEAR blockchain in a matter of seconds.
Marketing Technology News: Syntropy Announces the Issuance of Its Foundational Patent…
With over 700,000 new wallets being generated in 24h, the beta release of NFT-Maker-App saw huge demand from users, which pushed the boundaries of user growth on the NEAR ecosystem. This was a significant milestone for the team.
Web3 needs to make user-friendliness a priority to shape its future
The path to user democratization on Web3 starts with building products that people love. This has been a guiding principle for Primelab, the team behind the NFT-Maker-App.
Marketing Technology News: MarTech Interview with Jeff Fagel, CMO at MadHive
PrimeLab Co-founder Ross Gates has commented: “We’re here to make Web3 possible on NEAR. Our mission is to drive mass consumer adoption on the NEAR blockchain by empowering people and businesses to build Near-powered applications in minutes not months. Democratizing access to the NFT world is our first step.”
The merging of digital and physical worlds is currently taking shape, with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seeing an increase in global adoption by mainstream consumers, brands, celebrities, artists, et al. NFT’s represent a new realm of digitally-enabled experiences that will only continue to increase in popularity in the foreseeable future.
Further information about the NFT-Maker-App can be found at nftmakerapp.io.
Marketing Technology News: MarTech Interview with Rob Sanchez, CEO at MeritB2B

domain: news


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The fashion firm said new stores were key to its success and revealed plans to move into the US.
Expansion pushed sales up 14% to £2.3billion in the 24 weeks to March 1, though experts said Primark has also benefited as hard-up families tried to spend less money on clothes.
“After extensive research it has been decided to take Primark to the USA”A spokesman
Primark has also extended its range to include clothes for newborns and children, as well as home goods, shoes, beauty products and sweets.
After opening its first store in Dublin, the Irish firm now has 269 shops across nine European countries and yesterday said it will launch in the US with a store in Boston next year.
A spokesman for the retailer said: “After extensive research it has been decided to take Primark to the USA.”
The chain’s profit hike comes days after the first anniversary of the collapse of a nine-storey factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where Primark clothes were being made.
The disaster at Rana Plaza on April 24 last year claimed the lives of 1,100 people in retail’s worst ever industrial accident.
Primark has started paying £5.34m compensation to the families affected by the disaster and has donated £1.18m aid to relatives of the workers who died.


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Earlier this week, news broke that Samsung is working on delivering sub-$800 foldables by 2024. The current-gen Galaxy Z Fold 3 starts at $1,799, while the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is selling for $999 — notable decreases compared to the $1,980 Galaxy Fold and $1,380 first-gen Z Flip. While the $999 price tag of the Flip 3 is credited for the boom in the popularity of foldables, it still requires a further decrease in price for mainstream users to fully embrace foldable technology. And Samsung knows this.
We now know that Samsung is reportedly working on cheaper foldables. But how might the company make and launch a foldable smartphone that costs less than $800? We have a few ideas on how that could happen.
Let’s start with the Flip, the cheaper of the two Samsung foldables on the market right now. The
That said, it’s not the biggest external display on a foldable clamshell
Talking about the larger foldable sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 features an under-display camera on the folding display. The Fold is Samsung’s device to showcase its latest breakthrough technologies. As a result, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is rumored to pack an even better under-display camera with more pixels covering the hole-punch area to better hide the camera.
Under-display camera tech is still a new innovation and hasn’t been picked up by companies for mass adoption. While it stays in nascent form, Samsung could drop the tech and go for the old-fashioned hole-punch display on a cheaper Z Fold — just like the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
As of now, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 sports a dual rear camera setup, while the Galaxy Z Fold 3 features three cameras on the back. Neither are flagship-level, yet they still produce very good-looking photos. And if reports are to be believed, Samsung is working on bringing much more impressive optics to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which would put it on par with the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
This is another opportunity for Samsung to save some cash with cheaper foldables. It could opt for mid-range cameras for the cheaper Galaxy Z Flip. On the other hand, Samsung can go with a dual rear camera setup – a primary sensor paired with either an ultrawide or telephoto sensor — on the cheaper Z Fold. Lesser number of cameras alongside a lack of optical image stabilization could lead to the needed lower price.
Samsung’s current-gen foldables are powered by the flagship Snapdragon 8-series processors. This makes the Flip 3 and Fold 3 flagship-grade smartphones apart from Samsung’s Galaxy S lineup. If Samsung is looking to build a sub-$800 foldable, swapping out a flagship Snapdragon chip for a mid-range one seems like a logical approach.
A less capable chip could lead to limited functionality in the OS, though. For instance, you might not get DeX support on the cheaper Fold. But it would be a calculated move since most users don’t require a flagship processor for day-to-day tasks anyway. Plenty of Snapdragon 7-series chips have proven their worth for less cash, so there’s no reason for Samsung not to go this route.
Both the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Fold 3 feature wireless charging — a feature that’s trickling down to non-flagship smartphones. However, it still isn’t a norm for mid-range smartphones to support wireless charging. To recall, OnePlus didn’t include the feature on its flagships for years to keep prices in check. Samsung could follow OnePlus’ lead and limit charging functionality to wired charging to reach a lower price tag.
OnePlus again, is a good example here. The company didn’t go through approvals for IP ratings for many of its smartphones. Even the OnePlus 10 Pro isn’t rated for water resistance on non-T-Mobile units. Samsung could either skip industry IP approvals or remove the support entirely for a lower price tag. While both are viable options, we would like to see the former approach here.
Right now, foldable smartphones are among the priciest phones to buy. The $1,380 launch price for the original Galaxy Z Flip was too much for an average Joe to take the leap of faith in new technology. Combine this with the uncertainty of how the
Lowering the price tag would not only increase foldable
- Using this Motorola folding phone was an emotional roller coaster
- I reviewed 20 phones in 2023. These are my 5 favorites
- How a tiny, fun phone changed my mind about foldables
- These two Android foldables cost less than one Galaxy Z Fold 5
- I was totally wrong about 2023’s best folding flip phones


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Fast Web Media’s new PPC software weatherFIT has been mentioned in the Wednesday January 9th edition of the Manchester Evening News.
The newspaper reports on weatherFIT’s launch, winning performance at the inaugural European Search Awards in Amsterdam in 2012 and its advertising campaign, which stars legendary weatherman Michael Fish.
FWM CEO Mike Flynn tells the paper: “Any retailer knows that the weather plays its part in what products or services they will sell.
“Using WeatherFIT, a company can input what the best weather conditions are to sell a particular product, and the system will only send out adverts when those weather conditions exist.
“So, if it is raining in Manchester, you could advertise raincoats to Mancunians, but simultaneously advertise swimsuits in Bristol if it is sunny there.”
For more on this story, please visit the Manchester Evening News website…


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Moove, Uber’s largest vehicle supply partner in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), has announced it has partnered with Paua, the EV charge card provider. The collaboration will develop the first end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) charging network app solution in the mobility industry.
Using Paua’s technology, Moove Charge will support Moove customers in their transition to electric vehicles by providing a simplified, all-in-one access solution to over 6,600 charge points in London without paying a hefty monthly subscription fee to multiple charge point operators (CPOs).
Moove is driving forward the electrification of mobility in London, offering electric vehicles at competitive rates to its customers. Plus, it’s helping to improve the productivity of ride-hailing drivers through value-added services like Moove Charge. This provides a cost saving of up to £340 per year or approximately 12 per cent of the average annual electric vehicle charging cost.
The African-born company operates across 13 markets globally and launched in London, the first of its European cities in August. It offers a 100 per cent electric vehicle rent-to-buy model. This provides access to new zero-emission Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq vehicles with no upfront costs and a flat weekly fee.
Moove recently raised £15 million in debt financing and aims to scale to 10,000 electric vehicles in London over the next three years.
Moove and Paua announce this partnership on the day of the inaugural Evening Standard’s Plug It In Summit run by the Evening Standard. The Summit seeks to highlight what more Londoners can do to go electric with their transport choices.
It confronts the biggest roadblocks being faced ahead of 2030 and solving the supply issue of electric vehicles is arguably the greatest challenge. The addition of a 100 per cent electric vehicle ride-hailing fleet provides greater access to cleaner transportation and a cleaner environment for the city’s residents.
London has a fast-growing network of electric car charge points, however, these are operated by a fragmented market of charge point operators and suppliers. Furthermore, charging requires forward planning to locate charge points and account for charge time. This is even more pivotal for ride-hailing drivers where time lost can heavily impact their earning capacity.
Crucial to drivers is the ability to access a vast network of rapid and fast chargers which are currently spread across over 25 separate charge point operators. Each of these have its own app making navigation of the supply landscape and access to charge points cumbersome.
Inadequate visibility of the available charge points across different networks is often a source of frustration among new adopters of electric cars. The Moove Charge App has been designed specifically with these pain points in mind.
As a consequence, it facilitates a frictionless transition by providing easy location and ease of access to the largest network of slow, fast and ultrafast electric vehicle charge points across London.
Charlotte Bailey, Moove Europe head, said: “Moove is an impact-led company committed to the electrification of mobility. Our mission is to empower mobility entrepreneurs on ride-sharing, e-logistics and last-mile delivery platforms to be more productive and successful and to achieve financial security.
“PAUA has been a fantastic partner in our mission to support our customers in their transition to EVs.”
Niall Riddell, Paua CEO and co-founder, said: “Soon Londoners will be able to select electric driven forms of transport for all their journeys from micro-mobility, private hire, busses and even their personal car.
“Providing a universal charging solution to enable this removes another barrier to the adoption of electric vehicles.”
Niall Riddel will be speaking on the Moving people and things: The challenges of E-mobility at today’s Evening Standard’s Plug It In Summit. Ade Thomas, founder of the globally acclaimed EV Summit, will also be speaking at the event today on the What do we need to do to make London Net Zero 2030 a reality? panel.


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Google News Innovation Challenge expands to Africa
Facebook plugs fake news loopholes ahead of SA elections
The social network puts a number of measures in place to counter election interference and misinformation.
Blow for tech giants as EU approves copyright laws
Under the new law, online platforms will have to sign licensing agreements with authors and publishers to use their work.
Facebook maps out Africa using artificial intelligence
The company creates artificial intelligence-powered maps to help humanitarian aid and relief agencies better assist people in need.
Online shopping via smartphones eclipses PCs, tablets
PwC's consumer survey finds smartphones are the device of choice for e-commerce, outstripping other commonly used online shopping channels.
'Digital gangster' Facebook to appoint content reviewers
The social media giant outlines plans to create an independent oversight board to provide guidelines around implementing a level of censorship on the platform.


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With deal-making by private equity players on the local market subdued by the economic crisis, and hovering around EUR 60 million over the past three years, more exits from companies with maturing investments may be imminent, while newcomers will be hard to come by, reckon pundits.
The number and value of deals has significantly dropped in the crisis period, with 2013 possibly being weaker than the previous years in terms of private equity (PE) deals concluded in Romania, according to Cornelia Bumbacea, partner, deals, at professional services firm PwC Romania.
“Although PE fund managers have looked at various businesses, reached preliminary agreements with owners on price and performed due diligence exercises in some instances, only a few PE deals reached final closure last year. Given the moderate optimism for 2014, deal activity is likely to pick up,” Bumbacea told BR.
“As some private equity funds have spent up their endowments and their investments have already reached maturity, we expect to see a number of exits this year. Opportunistic exits can always happen where there is an increased chance of getting a very good deal,” said Bumbacea.
Gap between buyers’ and sellers’ expectations persists
Meanwhile, Cristian Nacu, partner at Poland-based PE fund Enterprise Investors (EI), points out that no more than EUR 50-60 million has been put to work annually in the last three years.
“For us in private equity, which targets growth and profitability, it has been hard to find attractive targets,” Nacu told BR. He reckons this year will not be “significantly different” although perceptions of the economy have started to improve, due to better macro figures last year.
Nacu reckons Romania could see more exits this year, as a lot of PE investments have reached a certain maturity.
“In the region, there have been more exits in the recent period. In general, companies controlled by PE have done better in the crisis than others, because we established better management, and prepared the company for tougher times. Statistically speaking, even at a European level, companies owned by PE have done better during the crisis and maybe they were more attractive for an exit than the rest of the market,” commented the EI partner. Last year the fund sold its stake in Siveco, the Romanian software company.
Nacu said the local portfolio had performed from “well to very good” in 2013. He added that retailer Profi had expanded aggressively, more than tripling its national network to over 200 stores in three years.
Construction material group Macon has been back in the black for two years, while Smartree registered constant growth. “We are satisfied with its evolution and we are on chart with the growth we targeted. We do not exclude acquisitions for Smartree going forward,” said Nacu.
Horia Manda, managing partner at Axxess Capital Partners, the investment manager of three private equity funds, said the companies in the portfolio registered a “good performance last year”, adding that the overachievers were financial services provider Patria Credit, toy retailer Noriel, security firm Bitdefender and energy company SE-GES.
Mihai Pop, manager within the transaction advisory services department at the professional services firm EY Romania, predicts that more processes might start, but the number of exits will not necessarily rise, with some serving as preparation for the coming years.
According to Manda of Axxess Capital, new exits may come this year, but the market is grappling with the unrealistic expectations of entrepreneurs courted to sell their businesses to PE funds.
“We are hopeful that 2014 will bring a narrower gap between investors’ valuations and entrepreneurs’ expectations. In recent years, unfortunately, the reluctance of entrepreneurs to accept a realistic evaluation of their companies based on market conditions have plagued the M&A market and brought otherwise salvageable enterprises to the edge of the cliff,” Manda told BR.
Axxess Capital Partners last year acquired paints producer Deutek through its Emerging Europe Accession Fund (EEAF) from PE group Advent International. Furthermore, the EEAF added a majority stake in Nextebank following a deal with MKB and a EUR 5 million investment into Start Storage, a local provider of storage, outsourcing and cloud solutions.
How to attract PE
Nacu of EI comments that a company aiming to catch the eye of PE players needs to have registered constant growth in recent years, to be profitable and have strong management. In addition, it needs to be a market leader or have the potential to become one, and to be active in a market that shows signs of future growth even if it looks flat at present.
Florian Nitu, managing partner at law firm Popovici Nitu & Asociatii, told BR that PE giants have been able to put up new funds on the back of improved performances in mature financial markets. This means that new players may join the local market, he added, tipping energy projects, healthcare, and the logistics and distribution sectors as potentially attractive fields.
Manda of Axxess Capital sees good potential in IT, financial services and the building materials sector.
“Investment decisions in private equity are heavily dependent on the individual fund’s restrictions on ticket size and focus sector. On the local market, with only a handful of PE players, this means that some sectors will inadvertently be left out,” said Manda.
Although the financial services sector is expected to host a number of important transactions, PE groups will drive a limited number of deals, according to Pop of EY. He commented that sectors such as business and professional services, consumer goods and services, and real estate are expected to appear on investment radars.
Bumbacea of PwC said, “Whilst no sector seems a clear favorite for private equity, given that the relatively higher economic growth experienced during the second half of 2013 was not mirrored by similar growth in personal spending and consumption, one may expect business services and selected industrial sectors to be favored to some extent over sectors driven by consumer spending or highly dependent on consumer finance.”
“Expanding and gaining market share may still be the driving factors behind some portfolios’ bolt-on acquisitions, even in sectors that haven’t enjoyed impressive performances over the last few years,” she added.
Renewable energy has been an attractive sector for PE funds in the past few years, but the legal changes have “rocked the confidence of some” in the sector, according to the EI partner.
“We have in Poland a company that makes investments in wind, and at some point we had the idea of coming to Romania with that company, but at present it is on hold. That company is acquiring projects,” said Nacu.
The sector has attracted over EUR 5 billion in investments in the past four years. Large foreign utility firms have poured money into local projects, mainly wind, now in the red after the government deferred some green certificates through to 2017.
Nacu added that there are also opportunities in banking, but the deals are more complex because the central bank has to decide whether to let a PE fund become a shareholder in a lender.
“In recent years, there has been some reluctance in this area. The main motivation of the central bank was probably that investment funds by definition have limited funds over time, and that there probably needs to be unlimited availability to fund banks at some point,” said Nacu.
Local economy shaped by elections
Representatives of PE funds reckon the economy will grow by over 2 percent this year, but any estimate has to take into account the forthcoming elections. Romania is set to hold its ballot for the European Parliament in May and presidential elections will follow in November.
“The political instability currently unfolding and the uncertainty brought about by abrupt changes to the fiscal policy may yet again prove to be powerful deterrents for investors,” said Manda of Axxess Capital Partners.
Nacu of EI suggested that this year the government could focus on finding measures to stimulate not only domestic consumption, but economic growth. He added that the situation in the Euro zone greatly influences investors’ sentiment regarding Romania, which is heavily dependent on the bloc of nations, especially on exports.
Manda of Axxess Capital notes that the local economy relies on EU partners largely for cash inflows from exports and investments, and banking activity.
“Naturally, any worsening of the Euro zone situation sends ripples that, directly or indirectly, have an adverse effect on both the local economy and the local PE market. Last, but not least, let’s not forget that most of the financing that local PE funds raise comes directly from institutions that operate in the Euro zone. Fortunately, now, the Euro zone distress seems to have somewhat been brought under control and we do not expect any major negative developments in the near future,” said Manda.
The EC last week tipped the Euro zone economy to gain 1.2 percent this year.


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• व्यवसाय समाप्ति
|closure: काम बंदी घेर बंदी|
|of: स् का की पर बाबत|
|business: बात कार्य में|
closure of business मीनिंग इन हिंदी
closure of business उदाहरण वाक्य
- In January, an Atlantic coast blizzard forced the closure of businesses.
- Fines, and even closure of businesses, are foreseen for offenders.
- There was no massive lay-offs, major closures of businesses in Malaysia throughout the eight-month crisis.
- Labor leader Lim Boon Heng last week warned that unemployment and closure of businesses were inevitable.
- Tax evaders face jail time, penalties equal to tax amounts unpaid and closure of businesses, Alcides Diaz said.
- Singapore faces unemployment and closure of businesses because of the regional economic turmoil, a top government official said Thursday.
- "But I think we must not over-react, there are incidents of insolvency, closures of business, " said Ms Willis.
- Extensive powers of censorship, suspension of civil courts, expropriation of property, closure of businesses, and imposition of curfews were also granted.
- Banks with no liquidity cannot provide new credits or roll over outstanding credits, leading to the closure of businesses in some cases.
- Typhoon Dujuan swept into southern China Tuesday after causing massive disruptions at Hong Kong's airport and forcing the closure of businesses and schools.


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Customers who prefer to purchase gold coins and bars are primarily extra investment-focused hence think about it a reliable investment throughout times of worth appreciation. Gold coins and bars are often seen as a safe asset, appealing to traders trying to diversify their portfolios. In distinction, jewellery, whereas retaining its emotional and aesthetic value, might take a backseat for some throughout these phases, with customers prioritising gold in more Jewelery News liquid forms for funding purposes,” he mentioned. Retailers in Dubai said that gold jewellery is still a most popular selection of UAE customers as compared to coins and bars even when the costs rally as a result of buyers use it as an ornament and likewise benefit from its price improve.
- The company additionally confirmed that the loyalty program Brilliance by Michael Hill now has greater than two million members, representing 82 per cent of total sales.
- Tiffany & Co. confirms it has obtained the provide on 28 October, and its share price jumps 32 per cent.
- The author of this piece, Forbes contributor Lena Raff, and deputy style editor Kari Molvar each own jewelry from a number of of the manufacturers that acquired prime marks—including Mejuri, Pavoi and Ana Luisa—so we will personally attest to their quality.
- Several smallcap stocks achieved unprecedented milestones by reaching new all-time highs on October 12.
- Announcement under Para B, Part A of Regulation 30 associated to disruption of enterprise due to regulatory actions and pressure majeure scenario caused by en masse resignation of independent directors.
- Inside the temple have been a quantity of constructions, including hearths used as altars and a horsehoe-shaped altar that was covered in ash that proved to be rich in charred bones.
Van Der Linde recommends investing in banks, consumer staples, and retailers. While there could additionally be a tactical shift from small and midcaps to largecaps, he sees potential in domestic-oriented corporations. The argument of what constitutes jewelry is not new and the general consensus is that jewellery is outlined as an item that has a primary purpose of decoration. Therefore, as a outcome of the first function of wearable know-how is not adornment, some trade pundits consider that good jewellery is not jewellery within the traditional sense. While good jewellery typically centres on items that provide smartphone notifications and health-tracking performance, different purposes exist that proceed to blur the road between jewelry and technology. Further, Adams suggests smart jewellery could be the key to securing gross sales from younger demographics.
Retailers Share Heartwarming Experiences Of Customer Delight
Apart from internet hosting worldwide exhibitions and conventions JWCC may even function a shopping centre, office space, motels, and a theatre. Among the convention centre’s facilities are a 5,000 automobile parking facility, in-house meals and beverage facility, and fibre-enabled knowledge providers. Retail Edge’s data is intended to act as a representative pattern of the wider jewelry industry. Silver and various metals jewelry gross sales dollars had been additionally a positive contributor with a 77 per cent rise compared with 2021. India’s gem & jewelry exports rebound 54% year-on-year to US$ 39.15 billion…
Lypsa Gems & Jewelry Format Of The Preliminary Disclosure To Be Made By An Entity Identified As A Large Company : Annexure A
“Smart jewellery mainly targets Millennials,” De Luca says, including that the category also taps into gender-fluid and age-fluid social phenomena. Ringly founder and CEO Christina Mercando d’Avignon says it’s all the time a challenge to create a device that mixes expertise and elegance but this now appears necessary in today’s constantly-connected society. Three of those 5 retailers to propose a sale are from Australia, and two are located overseas. Amero’s exclusive line and restricted version product made utilizing gemstone impressed by rare green PARAIBA gemstone. GemGenève’s organisers report a really constructive November 2023 exhibition The seventh edition of GemGenève, the tradeshow especially for… NEW YORK, NY—Tiffany & Co. proclaims the debut of its newest collaboration with modern artist, Daniel Arsham, in partnership with…
Our favourite, though, are the rings, necklaces, and bracelets, filled with gold, diamonds, onyx, and extra, that could have come out of 1920s Paris (and some did!). After 2023, we’re hoping 2024 will be a yr of immense significance, change, and healing for many who want it. The jewellery developments of the 12 months to come signify resurgence, of decades previous and non secular motifs, in addition to fashionable concepts that encourage us to look to the longer term. No matter where the brand new 12 months will take you, make sure you’re decked out in your favorite sparkly, shiny pieces to get you through the ups and downs. In December of 2021, New York-based designer David Yurman filed a lawsuit towards venture capital-backed Mejuri for ‘copying’ several distinctive jewellery designs that bore similarities with Yurman’s Pure Form and Sculpted Cable collections. Jewellery continues to be a brilliant spark amidst the Covid gloom that’s pervaded our lives these last two years.
Eyeing the united states and China as its highest potential markets, Pandora plans to triple revenue in China against its 2019 baseline when it did simply shy of $300 million. China was particularly problematic during the last two years when its share dropped from 9% of revenues in 2019 to 5% in 2021. The U.S. market powered a lot of the Danish company’s growth, with year-over-year organic gross sales up 58%. In another first, the U.S. reached $1.1 billion in gross sales in 2021 and now accounts for 30% of whole gross sales, up from 24% in 2020. However, after climbing three flooring, he turned into observe pants earlier than fastidiously choosing out items of jewelry amounting to round one hundred fifty sovereigns, equal to three.2 kilograms. Dubbed ‘Spiderman’, a burglar is on the run from police for robbing around three kilograms of gold and silver ornaments from Jos Alukkas Jewellery in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore.
Jewellery design is taking a more celebratory flip in 2024, with higher play on textures, colors and materials to enliven the scene. Collections also replicate the eager social consciousness and digital savviness of today’s consumers and the purchasers of tomorrow. JNA casts the highlight on a few of this year’s outstanding design concepts. A curated number of jewellery pieces highlighting contemporary design ideas and endearing narratives is captivating the fantastic jewellery trade. India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse on 17th December, marking a brand new milestone for Surat’s prominence within the international diamond and jewelry commerce.


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The Hong Kong government has thrown HK$9 million (£730,000) at a new Cyber Security Centre in a bid to tackle the growing threat to critical infrastructure in the Special Administrative Region of China. Police commissioner Tsang Wai-hung said at the opening ceremony last Friday that the 27-man centre would be staffed by officers …
730,000 quid? 27-people? ROTFLMAO!
Methinks the .gov involved has been informed by the mainland that actually implementing security procedures will be strictly frowned upon :-)
- Updated HIDDEN packet sniffer spy tech in MILLIONS of iPhones, iPads – expert
- RISE of the Jesus Phone MOUNTAIN: 80 MILLION 'Air' iPhone 6s ordered
- Students hack Tesla Model S, make all its doors pop open IN MOTION
- BBC goes offline in MASSIVE COCKUP: Stephen Fry partly muzzled
- PROOF the Apple iPhone 6 rumor mill hype-gasm has reached its logical conclusion


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The software giant says it's working on an update for the versions of its Surface tablet that used an ARM-based chip. But it will only have some of the functionality of Windows 10.
Those of you running Windows 7 or 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 Home or Pro for free come July 25. But exactly which of two new editions will land on your PC?
The software maker patches a security hole that lets hackers take control of any Windows machine, including ones running Windows 10.
A notification prompts Windows 7 and 8.1 users to reserve an upgrade to the new OS.
Microsoft's plan to drop the Modern version of Skype for Windows has created a bunch of unanswered questions. Here are a few clarifications from the Skype team.
Originally $370, this highly regarded system comes refurbished from Lenovo and includes a full one-year warranty.
The next version of the Surface is meant to compete with midtier tablets priced around $500. But does it deliver too little, too late?
You'll have to wait a little longer, though, for the full details on things like pricing and licensing.
The company is shifting gears from its usual Patch Tuesday to push out optional patches. But why now, and for what reason?
Is Google abusing its position as the world's most popular search engine? Also, if you're hoping to walk into an Apple store and buy a Watch next week, we have some bad news. All that and more in your look back at the week in tech.


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This time one year ago, Downtown Lee’s Summit — like all business districts in the city — was in the middle of a hard lockdown due to the rapid spread of COVID-19.
Retail shops were closed to walk-in customers. Restaurants were doing maybe 20-30 percent of their pre-COVID business through carryout orders.
The usual bustle and busyness of the business district was brought to a low hum.
But even as to-go booze and “I’ll meet you at the door for pickup” retail sales became the norm, Downtown Lee’s Summit’s CID tax (the 1-penny Community Improvement District tax) remained healthy, racking up tens of thousands of dollars a month.
From July 2020 through this past February, total taxable sales in downtown Lee’s Summit totaled $31.1 million, which is up 4.7 percent from the prior year.
Shocked? I am. Kind of.
While downtown businesses surely suffered losses during the course of the last 12 months, specialized shopping events like Small Business Saturday and various open houses have been a boon to retail locations. And restaurants and bars, too, have steadily seen customers pouring back through the doors for the breakfast, lunch, dinner, craft beer, cool cocktails and coffee they have been missing.
All of these establishments (well, the vast majority) played by the health department rules and limited occupancy and seating while finding creative ways to bring in additional revenue.
The penny tax has been on the books since 2015 and the tally for the downtown CID is well over $1 million at this point. Early projections had the fund earning possibly up to $15,000 a month. Now, it isn’t unusual for the CID to bank $25,000, $30,000 or more a month, with contributions from massive purchases at Owen Lumber all the way down to that $3 happy-hour well vodka and soda.
From the first year of collection through June 2020, taxable sales have grown more than 47 percent in downtown Lee’s Summit. There are a myriad of factors to this success, the most obvious of which is that there are just simply more places to shop, eat and drink today than there were six years ago.
The CID funds are distributed by a board that is independent of both Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street and its board of directors. In the past year, this board has approved CID funds to assist with the Sculpture Walk, the purchase of a piece of art from that project to remain permanent, public art projects like “We Are Lee’s Summit,” the gift card program and the popular LOVE LOCAL holiday gift card promotion and the visible and unique holiday lighting display at City Hall Plaza organized by LSR7 robotics teams.
COVID-19 pain most certainly trickled down to individual owners and employees. That was inevitable. Industry workers likely made less last year and part-time employees in our downtown — a number that is easily in the hundreds — lost hours and wages.
What these numbers show, however, is that when it was time to spend some money, everyone from downtown loyalists to first-time visitors, took that call to heart.
And they did so for the heart of Lee’s Summit.
I would encourage everyone with a stake in downtown to think about future projects — art, music, restoration, alleyways, beautification or in any number of ways — when applying for CID funds.
Keeping money downtown is what ensures we still work downtown, live downtown and showcase what makes our downtown the envy of so many in Missouri.


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Mike Novogratz asks his followers on Twitter to tell him which blockchain coin out of four will cross the finish line first in a payment marathon. He listed out Bitcoin Cash, Diem of Facebook, Circle’s stablecoinUSDC, and Tether to be the four contestants participating in the marathon.
It was on 31st December, when multi-billion dollar businessman and patron crypto investor, Mike Novogratz, sought advice from his followers at Twitter.
In his tweet, which obtained thousands of likes and responses, Novogrataz asked if there was a payment marathon then who would be the winner. He stated though there were many blockchain coins that he had considered but he brought down his list to four.
He pointed out four blockchain coins including Bitcoin Cash, Diem of Facebook, Circle’s USDC, and Tether to be the four contestants. He asked followers to give their opinions as to who, out of the four, would cross the finish line first.
Shortly after posting the tweet, the tweet received thousands of likes as well as replies from renowned crypto proponents as well. Thereafter, multifarious theories, which were all interesting, appeared on the surface and discussed and debated.
One of Novogratz followers responded to the tweet that Diem would cross the ribbon first as it had been backed by Facebook. However, it will be under strict scrutiny and supervision by the US regulator, the follower stated.
However, the majority opinion was seen to be in favor of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In response to Novogratz’s tweet, they highlighted the benefits of Bitcoin Cash and pointed out that it was best out of four.
One prominent response was from Bitcoin Cash’s huge fan Wizewizzz. He suggested that five different teams of BCH had been entrusted with the task to bring about innovation within the scaling front. He added further that in terms of electronic cash based on peer-to-peer then none of the projects could compete with BCH. Bitcoin Cash would always have an upper hand and advantage against present and future altcoins, he argued.
Another interesting theory was presented by Jonathan Silverblood, who had been known for developing globally acknowledged General Protocols. Silverblood said that stability of value in an asset class is inherited. He argued thereafter that according to his understanding, certainly Tether as well as USDC had been in an advantageous position. He said that in the other two blockchain coins, the stability within their values is lacking by default. Silverblood then placed Bitcoin Cash at number 3 and Diem at number 4.
Some of the followers responded by saying that Bitcoin Cash could easily be considered as a great store of value. One of the followers namely George Donnelly said that out of four, only Bitcoin Cash is decentralized and that is the real deal.


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Archive for June, 2014
Dubai Stock Market Crashes… is there more to come or is it a mere bump on it’s ride up?
- Published on Tuesday, 24 June 2014 10:22
- 0 Comments
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) has officially crashed, losing over 20% of its value since May this year. Should investors be concerned or will the market continue its phenomenal rise?


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Electronics Production | September 22, 2006
Foxconn denies negotioations with Logah
The rumors saying that Foxconn should be in negotioations with Logah are according to Foxconn untrue.
Foxconn Electronics posted a filing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) clarifying that recent market hearsays about a truce between the company and Li Shin International Enterprise (LSE) and its affiliate Logah Technology were untrue. There are according to Foxconn no negotiations between the involved parties and that there is no truth in reports that the company is procuring products from Logah or Li Shin.


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Most of us, me included, have probably bought some of our books from the University Co-op during the rush of the first week of classes. Some may have even purchased UT merchandise, as I have done several times when friends in Argentina or Brazil have asked for souvenirs. This mixture of school spirit and textbook sales has made the Co-op an icon for current, former and future UT students. It benefits from the UT brand even if it receives no direct funding from the University. Enter the Co-op store and gaze at three floors of sheer school spirit: khakis with UT logos that are more expensive than plain khakis, Longhorn regalia and a kids’ section for future Longhorns. School spirit has its place, but the Co-op creates an image problem by not offering any books beyond those textbooks required for classes down in the basement.
The Co-op had a separate shelf for faculty publications and University of Texas Press several years ago, but that section has disappeared. Why is that? Why did the Co-op, which is supposed to be at the service of the University, pull the books? When I talked to George Mitchell, the president and CEO of the Co-op, he gave a simple answer: The books were not profitable.
In Mitchell’s defense, America has a bookstore problem. This is largely due to the rise of online distribution centers such as Amazon.com, which benefits from the so-called “long tail effect.” This means online distributors do not depend on local markets or storefronts, instead selling a few copies of even the most obscure books to worldwide audiences at a low cost. Barnes & Nobles leased the space the Co-op used to use for trade books, but according to Mitchell, it did not do any better than the Co-op and the location was subsequently closed. In the last year Borders, another national bookstore chain, went out of business. Michael Kiely, director of course materials for the Co-op, made note of this trend, telling me that he used to work at a Colloquium Bookstore in San Marcos that has since closed.
The Co-op has not escaped the nationwide trend. According to Mitchell, textbook sales have dropped from $26.7 million to $13.7 million in the last five years. This effect has cut into the Co-op’s normal textbook sales, which used to account for the majority of sales. Now they account for only 40 percent of all sales as opposed to 52 percent for licensed merchandise. But in the case of the Co-op, other oft-cited culprits such as book rentals and e-books in general have not yet cut into Co-op price sales. When I asked Kiely which books sold well outside of regular textbooks, he showed me “DKR: The Royal Scrapbook,” which eulogized the legendary football coach, and told me, “I don’t have the exact numbers, but it sold well during the Christmas season.” Study aids also fare well.
Do I blame the Co-op for prioritizing textbooks over trade books? No. But the Co-op should keep in mind that its function is not merely to sell what is profitable, but also to serve the UT community and promote a positive attitude toward education. Merchandising should supplement, not replace, this effort.
There are some things that the Co-op is doing to promote educational initiatives. The Mitchell and Granof Awards for students who conduct exemplary research encourage and reward quality academic production from UT students, and the Hamilton Book Award rewards prolific scholars from our University as well. However, the Co-op should go further. If the Co-op has a surplus of faculty publications in its inventory, why not make a separate display or shelf that could highlight certain scholarly work and help sell off some of those extra copies? Why not dedicate a specific section to showcase the quality academic research that receives the aforementioned awards and not just UT’s athletic conquests?
As an emblematic institution in the UT community, the Co-op should seek innovative ways to encourage the reading culture on campus while remaining conscious of financial limitations. Without balanced marketing, the Coop risks sending the message that UT stands not for the pursuit of knowledge but only for the football field.
Knoll is a Latin American Studies senior from Dallas.


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PARIS — French designer Sonia Rykiel, whose relaxed striped sweaters helped liberate women from their stuffy suits and who went on to run a global fashion empire, has died. She was 86.
President Francois Hollande's office announced her death in a statement on Thursday. Hollande praised her as "a pioneer" who "offered women freedom of movement."
Also read: Paris Sues Airbnb Over Rental Listings


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Login to access your membership accounts, education training and products and services.
RAPS Virtual Career Fairs are designed to connect employees with employers no matter where they might be located.
Local or global—RAPS has you covered with offices in Washington, DC, Shanghai and Singapore. There are RAPS chapters in Canada, Israel, Switzerland, Taiwan and throughout the United States, and local networks in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, The Netherlands, Poland and Singapore.
Regulatory Exchange, aka RegEx, is where members come online to learn, grow and engage with a diverse global community of regulatory professionals with similar interests and goals.
It’s well-known that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers billions of dollars in grants to US academic research facilities. What’s less well-known is that each year, hundreds of new inventions are produced in the laboratories of NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and these inventions are licensed out to private companies in the US and internationally for further research and development, with the hopes of bringing new products to market.
In response to questions from state health officials, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday issued draft guidance detailing how state emergency health response stakeholders can extend the shelf life of stockpiled doxycycline.
As the opioid epidemic continues to spread, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to alleviate some of that pain by offering draft guidance to generic drug companies looking to develop generic versions of the nasal spray that can revive those who have overdosed on opioids.
After a lengthy wait, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially told Texas and Arizona that their imported execution drugs cannot be used because they were unlawfully obtained.


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You are here
US producer prices post biggest gain in five months on services
[WASHINGTON] US producer prices recorded their biggest increase in five months in November amid rising costs for services, pointing to steadily rising inflation pressures.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4 per cent last month, the largest gain since June, after being unchanged in October.
In the 12 months through October, the PPI rose 1.3 per cent, the biggest gain since November 2014. The PPI rose 0.8 per cent in the 12 months through October.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI rising 0.1 per cent last month and accelerating 0.9 per cent from a year ago.
A 0.5 per cent increase in the cost of services accounted for more than 80 per cent of the rise in the final demand PPI last month. The increase, which followed a 0.3 per cent decline in October, was the largest since January.
Producer prices are rising as some of the drag from last year's plunge in oil prices continues to fade. Oil prices are hovering around US$50 per barrel, which could help offset some of the anticipated dampening impact on inflation from the US dollar's renewed strength.
The US dollar has gained 3.5 per cent against the currencies of the United States' main trading partners since the Nov 8 election of Donald Trump as the next president.
The greenback's rally had appeared to fade for much of the year Inflation is steadily moving toward the Federal Reserve's two per cent target.
Energy prices fell 0.3 per cent in November after climbing 2.5 per cent the prior month. Wholesale food prices rose 0.6 per cent after declining 0.8 per cent in October.
Healthcare costs gained 0.2 per cent last month after increasing 0.3 per cent in October. The cost of hospital inpatient care increased 0.2 per cent after rising 0.3 per cent in October. These healthcare costs feed into the Fed's preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index.
Last month, the volatile trade services component - which measures changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers - shot up 1.3 per cent. That was the biggest increase since January and snapped four straight months of declines.
A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services advanced 0.2 per cent. That followed a 0.1 per cent dip in October.
The so-called core PPI increased 1.8 per cent in the 12 months through November, the largest rise since August 2014. The core PPI increased 1.6 per cent in the 12 months through October.


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Consumer prices rose by nearly 2 percent in Phoenix during 2012, according to new figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Consumer Price Index for Phoenix increased 1.7 percent over the past year, which was slightly higher than the national average CPI, which was 1.6 percent for 2012, according to the BLS.
In Phoenix, energy prices led the charge on increases, going up 3.1 percent over the past year, heavily influenced by a 4.9 percent uptick in gasoline prices.
Food prices increased 1.6 percent.
When volatile food and energy prices are removed, the Phoenix CPI was up 1.4 percent for the past 12 months.


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Nindies Showcase Summer 2017 – Indie Games Become The Star
Over the past couple of days Nintendo has made a lot of headlines. These headlines have revolved around the Nindies Showcase Summer 2017. The presentation which streamed on Wednesday. Saw the gaming giant announce a plethora of indie games coming to the Nintendo Switch.
The Nindies Showcase Summer 2017 is a solid move on Nintendo’s part
While this isn’t a new move from Nintendo. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Switch. The games announced during the presentation, will provide much-needed influx of new games. While the console has seen a steady release of new games. The periods between AAA titles is still a point of contention for some players.
This isn’t the first time that Nintendo has showcased Nindies. Showcasing Nindies was common practice on the companies Wii U platform. So, it’s not surprising that the company would continue the practice with the Switch. The company hasn’t always had the best track record when working with outside developers. That looks to be something that the gaming giant hopes to change. The company seems to be looking to the indie community for that change.
One thing that stands out about the showcase is that indie games are the star of the show. Which is something that doesn’t happen often enough. While the presentation wasn’t as long as some of the company’s direct broadcasts of the past. It was still more than enough to get people excited if the news stories are any indication.
Nintendo also seems to be very keen on furthering its ties with indie developers. Based on this statement from the company.
The Switch is a unique console given its hybrid nature. How difficult this makes it on developers is at best guess work. Given the versatility of the device may prove attractive to some developers. Nintendo titles by themselves aren’t enough to sustain a home console. Nintendo would be wise to continue fostering relationships with indie developers.
The Switch could become a console that’s known for its indie games library as well as its AAA games library. If Nintendo is smart then we’ll also get a Nindies Showcase Winter 2018.
Have thoughts, or comments? Sound off below.


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Payday, a neobank issuing global (USD, EUR and GBP) accounts to Africans, has raised $3 million to fuel its “future of work” initiative through borderless payment alternatives in major currencies.
The seed round was led by Moniepoint Inc (formerly TeamApt Inc), the U.S. entity that houses Moniepoint Microfinance Bank and TeamApt Nigeria. Techstars, Angels Touch, HoaQ, DFS Lab’s Stellar Africa Fund, Ingressive Capital Fund II and angel investors such as MFS Africa chief Dare Okoudjou and Norebase CEO Tola Onayemi also participated.
When Favour Ori launched Payday in June 2021, the initial play was to build PayPal for Africa, for which it secured a million dollars in pre-seed funding. Customers in 11 African countries, including Rwanda, where it first established its headquarters due to its business-friendly environment, had access to the platform and could send money to each other. Subsequently, the fintech, which became the first Rwandan company to join Techstars (Toronto program) and soon raised a $1.2 million pre-seed extension, learned that enabling cross-border payments was expensive despite. As such, it shut down nine corridors and focused on Nigeria, where it has since witnessed tremendous transaction volume and user growth.
With Payday, African remote workers and freelancers, particularly in Nigeria and Rwanda, can send and receive money in USD, GBP, EUR and 20 other currencies. This allows them and those in the diaspora who work remotely for international organizations to be paid and withdraw money in their choice of currency. Payday also offers virtual dollar and naira cards (which allow Nigerian users to purchase goods and services on foreign platforms), currency swaps, payment links, local bill payments and peer-to-peer transfers.
These features are commonly provided by other VC-backed B2C fintech apps serving African customers and those in the diaspora, such as Grey, Lemonade Finance, Send by Flutterwave, and Chipper Cash, making the landscape a competitive one where each attempts to outdo the other with speed and better fees or rates.
“We are building TransferWise for Africa; we want our customers to move money faster with the bank accounts and cards we issue. Other platforms focus on Africans in the diaspora; we’re focusing on people in Africa while planning to focus on those abroad by expanding to the U.K.,” Ori told TechCrunch during an interview about Payday’s place in Africa’s remittance and global neobanking space. “We were the first startup to start issuing virtual accounts in Africa around June 2021, and we’ve done this for over 20 months, so we know what works and understand our market and users.”
Payday ramped up its social media marketing push over the last few months to increase market share, which seems to be paying off. The fintech ended 2022 with slightly over 100,000 users, and now offers its virtual cards and other products to more than 300,000 users. Payday also processes an average of 40,000 transactions daily and over $25 million monthly, numbers that have fetched the fintech a $15 million acquisition offer by one of the continent’s unicorns, which, Ori says, was turned down.
The fintech’s burn rate has tripled as a result of extensive marketing. However, Ori claims that the company has remained profitable since August 2022 and its monthly revenues have quadrupled owing to its increasing user base. Similarly, the two-year-old startup became a payment partner for SpaceX’s Starlink, enabling users in Nigeria and Rwanda to purchase Starlink routers.
“At Moniepoint, we’re excited about the unique things Favour and the team are doing with PayDay. Personally, I connect deeply with his drive, technical depth and desire to execute. This is something that isn’t very common, and the urge to encourage that fire inspired us to want to be a part of this,” Moniepoint CEO Tosin Eniolorunda said. “There’s also the alignment in our goal to provide financial happiness by addressing key international payment pain points with merchants and individuals. We see a potential to leverage their infrastructure to further deepen our suite of financial services for merchants as well, and we’re looking forward to all that’s to come.”
Having raised over $5 million since its inception, Payday will now look to secure operational licensing in the U.K. and Canada while building out operations in the former, where the startup has recently been incorporated. The Kigali and Vancouver-based fintech will also intensify its marketing efforts while hiring more talent as it looks to expand from 35 to 50 employees in the coming weeks. It already made fresh additions to its founding and executive team, which initially comprised Ori, who ran Payday all by himself for 18 months.
Elijah Kingson has joined the company as co-founder and CPO from global fintech Revolut, while Yvonne Obike, now COO and co-founder at the company, had previous stints with Nigeria’s Bank of Industry. Sean Udeke, an ex–Goldman Sachs and Expedia product manager, works at the fintech as its new head of products, where he is slated to oversee new offerings such as loans and credit cards.
“We’re supporting the future of work by targeting remote workers and freelancers, and we want to be able to study customer and spend behaviors and use that to offer loans,” said Ori, who also ran the now-defunct tech outsourcing platform WeJapa. “That’s going to be the future for us. We also want to issue credit cards, where if you’re a student trying to go to the U.S., you can start building your credit from Nigeria with Payday.”


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Last week, a billboard truck rolled by Amazon’s corporate HQ in Seattle. Its rotating messages read: “No Amazon Prime Air Without Pilots,” “Don’t Ground Prime Air” and “Prime(d) for Disaster.”
The protest isn’t inspired by Amazon directly, but by the company’s Prime Air partners, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group, Inc. Per Geekwire, Teamsters Local 1224 pilots hope to draw attention to what they say are poor working conditions and low compensation at these carriers, and to provoke Amazon to exert pressure on their partners to improve.
“We want Prime Air to succeed, and that’s why it’s our responsibility to expose the ticking time bomb behind the marketing hype and let customers and investors know what’s really going on,” said Capt. Michael Griffith, a Prime Air pilot, in a statement. “Our airlines are hemorrhaging pilots at a record rate, and with customers counting on us to deliver, Amazon can’t afford to ignore the substandard pay and conditions that continue to undermine our operations. The busiest time of the year is fast approaching, and Amazon should urge our airlines to work with pilots to address the staffing crisis and get Prime Air on track.”
The billboard truck’s signs directed observers to CanAmazonDeliver.com, which offers details:
- Prime Air will operate with 40 planes leased from subsidiaries of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW) and Air Transport Services, Group, Inc. (ATSG).1 The new shipping service means that Amazon is using big shipping companies like FedEx and UPS less and less.
- Instead of working with pilots, executives at the Prime Air contracted carriers (AAWW and ATSG) are ignoring the serious challenges that could jeopardize their ability to handle Amazon’s business. They are taking on the work despite known staffing, attrition and retention problems, and these issues will only get worse.
- Citing contract violations and forced overtime due to short-staffing, 250 ATSG pilots went on strike in November. More than 75 flights were grounded, creating what Fox Business called a “rocky start” for Prime Air.
The site also refers to a recent survey of Atlas pilots, which showed that 65 percent of pilots planned to leave for a job at another carrier.
Previously, protestors showed up at Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting in May to encourage the company to work on its Prime Air partners. In an emailed to Geekwire, the group said, “We expect Amazon to be a leader on these issues. Because if corporate behavior doesn’t change soon … we’re all in very deep water indeed.”
At the time, Amazon responded:
“Questions about the working environment of our partners is best addressed by them. All of our delivery providers must abide by our Supplier Code of Conduct and we take seriously any allegation that a delivery provider is not meeting those requirements and expectations. That said, we are pleased with our partners’ performance and their continued ability to scale for our customers.”
Tell Us What You Think
What’s your take on this story? We want to hear from you. Tell us your thoughts in the comments or join the conversation on Twitter.


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Beeks said Lionsgate Blu-ray revenue in January was about seven times higher than last year. The studio has already shipped as many BD releases this year as in entire 2007.
"We expect the industry to unite behind Blu-ray by the summer, which should drive the current HD market to triple in size from $300 million in 2007 to more than $1 billion this year," he said. "It is exciting again to have a true growth opportunity in home entertainment as we expect Blu-ray revenue to be largely incremental in the near term."
For some reason it N4G wouldn't let me link directly to the article.
"The Game Development World Championship (GDWC) celebrated the 2023 Summer Season with an Awards Stream on Thursday, September 21st. At the event, GDWC announced winners in 11 categories for the Summer Season." - GDWC.
Today Unity revealed a rather radical change to the new pricing policy announced a while ago, following the massive backlash from many of its developers and the wider gaming industry.


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INDIANAPOLIS, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Studio Science, Indianapolis' leading design and innovation consultancy, opens registration to business leaders in the Greater Columbus area of Ohio, for a customer experience design forum to be held at Fuse by Cardinal Health on June 28, 2017, in Dublin, Ohio, featuring keynote speakers from Fuse, Anthem and Nationwide Insurance.
This will be the third installment of Studio Science's People Powered Innovation series—highlighting how the experts at leading companies anticipate trends, design better customer experiences and drive bigger business.
"After the overwhelming response that we received from the first People-Powered Innovation event in Indianapolis, we knew Studio Science had an important role to play. As leaders in Customer Experience, User Experience and Design Thinking, we feel an obligation to facilitate a learning experience of best practices from those who are leading the way," commented Studio Science's Director of Marketing Chris Belli.
The forum will break into three rotating sessions for a more intimate learning experience with Natalie Schneider of Anthem, Heidi Munc of Nationwide and Marty Vian, director of User Experience at Fuse by Cardinal Health. A forum covering the best practices and strategies for implementation will follow.
Fuse, Cardinal Health's innovation center, is focused on connecting technology with healthcare to build the future of health and wellness. Experts at Fuse realize the importance of human-centered design and how it leads to new discoveries in the healthcare industry.
"We look forward to sharing how using a design thinking approach can generate a fresh perspective by gathering differing points of view, which enable us to connect dots across the larger ecosystem of healthcare," said Vian.
Find out more information or register for the event here.
About Studio Science:
Studio Science, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a leading design and innovation consultancy focused on using people-centered research to help brands create better products, build more meaningful experiences, solve bigger problems, and become more successful businesses. For more information: studioscience.com or on Twitter at @studioscience.
About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company provides clinically proven medical products and pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply chain efficiency from hospital to home. Cardinal Health connects patients, providers, payers, pharmacists and manufacturers for integrated care coordination and better patient management. Because Cardinal Health helps ensure pharmacists and the consumers they serve have access to medications they need while working to help prevent prescription drug diversion, the company and its education partners created Generation Rx, a national program to help prevent the misuse of prescription medications. Backed by nearly 100 years of experience, with more than 40,000 employees in nearly 60 countries, Cardinal Health ranks among the top 25 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit cardinalhealth.com, follow @CardinalHealth on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/ company/cardinal-health.
Cardinal Health saw the need for ongoing innovation to address challenges and anticipate trends in healthcare. Fuse opened its doors in 2014 and is the innovation center of Cardinal Health. Made up of a nimble, diverse team that merges technology and science with human-centered design, it brings deep expertise and industry foresight to solve complex healthcare challenges while leveraging the reach and resources of a large, global corporation. Learn more about Fuse at www.cardinalhealth.com/fuse.
© 2017 Studio Science. All rights reserved.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/studio-science-presents-customer-experience-design-forum-on-people-powered-innovation-300471056.html
SOURCE Studio Science


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Three local businesses with the word “Corridor” in their names and on their signs. PHOTOS KAITLIN RIGGLE
By Adam Moore
What’s in a name? It’s an existential question that has arisen at the CBJ offices over the past few months following the roll-out of a new brand for the region’s joint venture and the region itself: ICR Iowa.
While opinions have varied on the new brand (including on our own opinion page), journalistically, we have been most interested in understanding how businesses have been using and identifying with the existing regional brand, Iowa’s Creative Corridor. Do they see it as an important regional signpost or a simple marketing shorthand?
Last August, we reported that some 203 entities had incorporated as “Corridor” or used it as a fictitious name, according to Iowa state records, up from fewer than 100 as of a decade ago. That was enough to get a sense that the regional brand was taking hold, but we wondered just how many of those entities actually used the word “Corridor” in their brand or day-to-day business dealings?
The list, available at right, is our latest attempt to understand that. Over the past few weeks, CBJ staffers reached out to more than 170 companies and organizations listed with the state as active corporations or found through online searches in an attempt to verify their status.
We were ultimately able to directly verify 91 of those, categorizing them on our list as businesses, brand units of existing businesses (such as “Created in the Corridor”) and legal corporations, or those businesses registered as “Corridor” but doing business under another name. Even after all of that work, there were still nearly 80 organizations that could not be reached, meaning the actual number of organizations using the Corridor tag could be higher.
And while each organization has its own reasons for using the Corridor name, there were some commonalities that seemed to float to the top in our interviews. Many of those on this list were smaller startups and new-to-market companies, and several owners interviewed said the choice stemmed from a desire to represent they are “local” to the region.
“It was a combination of geographical and ‘joining the family’ – just to let everyone know we’re local,” said Rich Cook, owner of Corridor Insulation, who founded his company in August 2012, shortly after the Creative Corridor name was formally introduced. “I saw numerous businesses using the name, and I thought it might work for me.”
For Heather Adams with the Corridor Hockey Association, a nonprofit sports league, the name was an opportunity to expand her organization’s boundaries outside of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, and as far as Waterloo and central Iowa.
“We wanted to be all-inclusive. We have people who travel from all different communities. We’re not just about Cedar Rapids, even though we primarily play at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena,” Ms. Adams said.
Nearly all of those interviewed expressed little interest in changing their name to align with the new regional brand, citing existing brand equity and financial costs, although a few committed to keeping an open mind.
“It [ICR Iowa] doesn’t roll off the tongue as well, but if that’s what the community wants, I guess I’d be open to changing it,” said Raymond Liu, an automotive consultant with McGrath Automotive who goes by the moniker “The Corridor Car Guy.” “I just think ‘Corridor’ has more of a small, tight-knit community feel that the other name doesn’t.”
Considering that the Corridor name seemed to take hold with new businesses looking for a local hook, will the new ICR Iowa brand be reflected in the next crop of local entrepreneurs and business names? Only time will tell.
CBJ reporters Dave DeWitte and Katharine Carlon contributed.


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At Blendtec, our first big splash was in the commercial blending industry. We’re a leading supplier of blending equipment for thousands of smoothie shops, coffee houses, eateries, and restaurants around the world and have been for the past two decades. Are you interested in purchasing a commercial product? Here’s how.
The next generation of chefs is using the world’s most advanced blending equipment. Culinary students learning their craft in the best classrooms around the country are now using the most-advanced commercial blenders available. Blendtec is pleased to announce its support of Le Cordon Bleu, the world-renowned network of educational institutions dedicated to providing the highest level of
Blendtec and Lancer, a leading manufacturer of beverage dispensing systems have entered into a joint-development agreement and will be showing a prototype of their first joint product offering at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show this month. The new platform is an automated station for making smoothies, frozen coffee drinks, and other beverages. Blendtec is excited about this new partnership.


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The blockchain-based card game Gods Unchained is giving would-be players a glimpse of what it will actually look like in action.
The fantasy-themed trading card game, which draws inspiration from Magic: the Gathering and Hearthstone, uses the ethereum blockchain to house cards in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It has attracted attention from big-name investor Coinbase Ventures, which participated in a $2.4 million seed funding round led by Continue Capital and Nirvana Capital in May.
Fuel Games, the Sydney-based startup behind Gods Unchained, has also managed to win over the market despite tough conditions for crypto companies. In July it sold a single card – the "Mythic Hyperion" – for 146 ether, which at that time was worth over $60,000.
Notably, that sale was within sight of the record auction price for a trading card, set at $87,000 by a rare Magic card just days beforehand. Altogether, Fuel has sold around 1.6 million cards, bringing in $2.8 million, according to Fuel Games co-founder and CEO James Ferguson.
Now, in a new video shared exclusively with CoinDesk, Fuel Games is showing what buyers will be able to do with those cards:
Ferguson told CoinDesk:
Gods Unchained will enter closed beta in the next couple of weeks, said Ferguson, allowing the company to "stress test" the game with players who have purchased cards. An open beta period of around three months will come next, followed by full launch.
Fuel Games has departed from normal blockchain gaming practices in developing Gods Unchained. Gameplay happens on Fuel's servers, given the transaction costs and and slow processing associated with on-chain gaming.
Fuel also used the Unity game engine to develop the game, rather than having it "live in the browser," said Ferguson, because "we knew very early on that what we wanted wasn't possible in browser."
Ethereum plays a key role in Gods Unchained, however, given that the cards live on the blockchain as NFTs, the technology behind CryptoKitties. That way – the designers say – "nerfing," or intentionally weakening, the cards won't be possible.
Gods Unchained image via Fuel Games
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297w ago - SCEA has confirmed that there will be no changes to the PlayStation Store as part of its revamp in relation to region locking.
So just like before, users with a number of accounts relating to different regions will not be locked out of those PlayStation stores.
To quote: With the new PlayStation Store moving to a native XMB application and away from a web-based system, many have questioned if Sony would take the opportunity to region lock the store. So we passed along the question.
The Official answer, thankfully, is no. Our friendly SCEA rep "confirmed that no changes to the store will be made as part of this revamp relating to region locking".
So like before, those users with multiple master accounts corresponding to different regions will indeed not be locked out of those PlayStation Stores.
Stay tuned for more PS3 Hacks and PS3 CFW news, follow us on Twitter and be sure to drop by the PS3 Hacks and PS3 Custom Firmware Forums for the latest PlayStation 3 scene updates and homebrew releases!
I think this was said for relief purposes as people like myself have imported consoles and use our regional PSN usernames to access the PS Store or have more worldwide usernames and because it was brought up that the PS Store will be OS Based, it has led to speculation that it would lock to your console's regional store.


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(IANS) Transsion Holdings” itel Mobile is all set to launch its new flagship smartphone series in India, powered with aspirational and latest features like waterdrop notch display, bigger battery, fingerprint sensor and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered dual camera.
The new phone series featuring a stylish look is expected to make its debut as early as this month, according to industry sources.
A teaser video on the company’s official Facebook account suggests that the upcoming phone will have a premium design.
The phone is likely to feature premium camera deco finish, big pixel, dual-tone gradient color and a very stylish ID.
If the smartphone is launched at itel’s price segment, it could be a price disruptor.
itel is a major smartphone player under Rs 5,000 in offline channels.


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- Jun 30, 2010
- Reaction score
- Current Phone Model
- Google Pixel XL/Galaxy Note 8
It hasn't even been a month since Samsung announced its Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra on Aug. 5, but the tech giant is ready for the second half of its Samsung Unpacked event. Scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. UK), the virtual event will be streamed online and Samsung will host the event on its website.


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Shares of Novan, a Durham pharmaceutical start-up, surged again Thursday on the company’s second day of public trading after an IPO.
Novan closed at $21.20, up $3.10 on the day, rising 17 percent.
The shares are now up 93 percent in two days after the company had initially priced its shares at $11, on the low end of its estimate.
Novan shares traded as high as $22.24 Thursday before settling at $21.20 and giving the company a market capitalization of $324.9 million, nearly twice as high as Novan had valued itself Tuesday before the IPO.
The 63-employee company raised $45 million Wednesday, before fees and commissions, from offering 4.1 million shares to investors; its underwriters have a 30-day option to buy an additional 615,000 shares at the initial public offering price.
Novan is a skin products company with no products on the market. It is developing dermatological products to treat five conditions, including acne, genital warts and toenail fungus.
Launched in 2006 as a spin-out from UNC-Chapel Hill, Novan is backed by prominent corporate executives. Backers include former GlaxoWellcome CEO Robert Ingram, former Goodyear Tire CEO Robert Keegan, and F. Neal Hunter, the former CEO and co-founder of CREE, the Durham LED lighting company.


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TCL’s $500 NXTPAPER 10s Tablet Cuts Blue Light By 73%
TCL has announced the launch of the NXTPAPER 10s, a tablet that has been designed with eye-health and wellness in mind.
According to Optometry Australia’s 2022 Vision Index Report, 88% of Australians suffer from sore or tired eyes when using a computer or tablet for work, whilst BUPA found that 86% of parents believe that their children’s eyesight is being impacted by screen time. The former report also found that as a result of the pandemic and increased screen time, 31% of Australians have reported negative impacts on eye health.
In addition, HCF Australia found that the number of school-aged children needing glasses or contacts has increased by 28.8% from 2015 to 2020. The World Health Organisation has also stated that short-sightedness is increasing.
TCL’s NXTPAPER technology generates 73% less blue light from it’s 10.1-inch FHD display, which has a paper-like appearance. Despite the reduction in harmful blue-light, the NXTPAPER 10s features 10-layer protection which maintains accurate and natural colours. It is also TÜV certified.
In addition to being better for user eye-health, the paper-like surface of the screen reduces glare, making content easier to read at any angle.
In addition to the revolutionary display technology, the NXTPAPER 10s features an Octa-Core MTK8768 processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, an 8MP main camera and 5MP selfie camera, can be used in ‘PC Mode’ with an included keyboard, and has an 8,000mAh battery.
The TCL NXTPAPER 10s, awarded “Best Product In Tablet Innovation for 2022-2023” in Europe by the Expert Imaging and Sound Association, comes to Australia for only $499. It is available at Big W, Target, MobileCiti and other online retailers.


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Electrical manufacturers are welcoming a ruling this week by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on setting compensation for demand response participation. The new policy is expected to give a significant boost to demand for “smart grid” technologies.
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One of the best global technological companies OnePlus has recently unveiled its ‘biggest and the baddest’ OnePlus Experience store in the world in Hyderabad. The experience store measures to 16,000 square feet and is called ‘OnePlus Nizam Palace’. The China-based technology company sells budget and premium smartphones and their latest; OnePlus 8T is also available in Nizam Palace. Customers can walk-in and buy their choice of product.
OnePlus has previously spoken about expanding its offline presence in the market and OnePlus Nizam Palace is a big step forward. There are transparent glass cubicles built as big customer service centres where a transparent service will be provided to the customers. OnePlus is using an Omnichannel strategy to achieve its target and furthermore speaks about investing Rs. 100 crore into this Omni-channel to penetrate deeper into the retail market.
The brand sells its products online and the offline presence has clearly been a neglected front for the company until now. Expanding its presence in the offline retail business, OnePlus looks forward to future retail deals and aims to hit the mark of 100 cities through its offline service centre network till 2021. In addition to this, the Chinese brand is also focusing on improving its premium offline experience and spreading its offline presence to interior cities of the country through retail partnerships.
The numbers as of now state that OnePlus has about 5000 offline stores in India including partnered sources!
Turning our heads towards the OnePlus Nizam Palace, it clearly flaunts a distinctive and unique architectural design with white and red company’s colour scheme.
OnePlus explained their architectural design in a statement which said that the outer aluminium frame is a symbol for OnePlus’ bright and shiny future and the red brick beneath that shows brand’s loyal community and represents the strong core values and culture at the company.
Walls of the OnePlus Palace feature #shotonOnePlus picture and video content under LED casing for a beautiful visual treat!
The showcasing desks have catalogues and interactive features which makes the experience of the Experience Store, a memorable one.
In addition to this, the walls are equipped with LED TVs that plays OnePlus 8T 5G videos and launch event highlights as interesting visual display elements in the premium store.
The concluding statements of the announcement included that all security and safety measures as per the norms by the government of India have been adhered to; all platforms and floors will thoroughly be sanitised, social distancing will be maintained at all times, masks are compulsory and regular temperature checks of staff members will be done without fail.
OnePlus Nizam Palace is the company’s first step towards its stronger retail presence in India and it shall provide a premium high-end experience of their flagship products to the customers which will boost their business in the long run.


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TRENDS IN ICE CREAM CONSUMPTION08/07/2022
Although the global ice cream industry suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic due to supply chain disruptions, sales now seem to be on the rise again. In Italy and in the rest of Europe, the supply chain already bounced back in 2021 with a 25% upturn; now recent figures report that the global market – valued at USD113.82 billion in 2021 – is projected to register a CAGR of 6.47% during the next five years (2022 – 2027). If the current scenario in EMEA shows a per capita consumption of around 4.6kg yearly, the increased demand for quality convenience food among millennials and the rise in disposable income of consumers are setting high expectations of growth.
As of this year, ice cream parlors in 76 countries around the world are due to be frequently visited again by millions of people. At the same time, as the habit of buying food online has become established, it is also estimated that ice cream will enjoy increasing success when it comes to home deliveries and take-away. This trend confirms the positive forecasts and supports the growth for all the three types of ice cream recognized by the global market: impulse (bought when the consumer has a sudden desire for something tasty and refreshing, like a cone or cremino on a stick), takeaway (usually sold in multiple portions or in tubs) and bulk (generally packaged in large tubs, supplied to bars and restaurants then served in cups or bowls).
Invented by the Italians and introduced to the rest of Europe since the Renaissance, ice cream is now a food of the world. Nutritious and versatile, it can be easily adapted to suit the different needs of wider segments of consumers. Dairy-free ice cream, originally created for lactose intolerant people, is now booming thanks to that 53% of global consumers who prefer healthier, plant-based foods. Similarly, those looking for a little indulgence with healthy benefits can enjoy ice cream prepared with functional ingredients – such as probiotics and fibers – or with natural ingredients that boost their immune system, like aloe vera and elderberry.
All in all, what really makes ice cream so appealing is the unique flavor experience it offers at a reasonable price. As the industry keeps thinking outside the box, new savory flavors (french fries, blue cheese, etc.) are already registering an increase in sales thanks to those adventurous consumers who wish to go beyond the usual concept of “sweet treat”.


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Volvo considering building cars in North America
A U.S. Volvo plant would join factories in Sweden, Belgium and two plants in China. Volvo has been making a push on the Chinese market after Ford sold the Swedish company to Geely last year.
This manufacturing push is part of the company's initiative to double sales to 800,000 cars per year worldwide. The company also intends to invest $11 billion over the next five years, with the crosshairs squarely on the Chinese market.
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Saudi Aramco has replaced Apple as the world’s most valuable company, according to the news agency AFP. Saudi Aramco is the Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company.
The company was billed as the largest oil-producing company in the world after a surge in oil prices drove up its shares and tech stocks slumped. The Dhahran headquartered firm’s share rose to 46.20 riyals on Wednesday. It was valued at $2.42 trillion (9.24 trillion riyals) based on the price of its shares at the close of the market.
Wall Street fell on Wednesday again amid concern over the latest US inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 326.63 points (1.02%) to 31,834.11. The tech-heavy stock index Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.18% to close at 11,364.24 and the S&P 500 slipped 1.65% to 3,935.18.
Apple’s share price yesterday declined by more than 5 per cent to close at $146.50. The tech giant has seen its share price drop over the past month and was valued at $2.37 trillion when official trading ended on Wednesday.
Apple’s sinking share price came despite the iPhone maker reporting better-than-expected profits in the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Another American multinational technology corporation, Microsoft, is in the third position in terms of market capitalization in the world. It is followed by Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Latest Business News


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Originally published on Wed February 27, 2013 5:04 pm
Beatport, one of the most popular online stores for fans of dance music, has been bought by SFX Entertainment, a company that has invested heavily in the dance music business over the past year. According to sources with direct knowledge of the deal, the company was sold for around $50 million.
"[With this purchase] you now have a great one-stop shop for consumers of dance music," says SFX Entertainment CMO Chris Stephenson.
Founded by brothers Rev. Gean West and Tommie West, The Relatives first surfaced in the 1970s with the single "Walking On." With its rhythmic fusion of traditional gospel and psychedelic funk, the quintet became known for its energetic live performances. However, the group disbanded in 1980, disappearing from the music world without so much as a full studio album to its name — until now.


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Why do funders choose to invest in this way? Because they like the product or idea that is pitched to them and want to support a business they believe in? Perhaps too because they think money can be made out of it. But potential equity investors should remember that funding of this type is essentially a lottery.
Every great business normally comes from some divine moment of inspiration. Why? What if? And normally as a result of some form of experience that sparks intrigue and gets the brain to go into overdrive. You get excited.
The reality is that the footage we, war journalists, capture in the field isn't always 'striking' or insightful. In many cases we are forced to stand a good way from the frontline for our own safety, or if we are on the frontline, we can't stay there for long... unmanned remote control drones fitted with high definition gyroscopic cameras will change the role of the war reporter.
Google may have cornered the market with its Nest range of thermostats and smoke alarms, and Apple ignited the battle for the Internet of Things a few months ago with the announcement of its "Home" app... Here are some of the most exciting and accessible smart products that I've spotted recently.
The part-privatisation of the probation service of England and Wales represents one of the most radical policy reforms in crime and justice of the past 70 years. The changes are, not surprisingly, the cause of a great deal of upheaval, doubt and concern in the sector.
I'm actually not 100% sure that social media inherently is good. Yes, it's possible for people to post real-time news, yes it encourages every individual to voice their thoughts and be accessible but what happens when the social media news agenda gets hijacked?
For many the most stressful aspect of taking a proper vacation is the horror of returning to hundreds even thousands of unread emails... What are your options? ... declare email bankruptcy, delete the lot and wait for someone to re-contact you about anything either urgent or important.
This is a perfect storm scenario. Countries such as the UK, with a history of dominance and empire and educational excellence, need to look beyond the obvious. The world is going to be a very different place in just a couple of decades. Economic and cultural hegemony is not a birthright and can easily shift to the east throughout this century.
Arguably the fastest-growing technology the world has seen is mobile and it is also the biggest technological drive of social and economic change. The app economy has paved the way that enables for everything from games and entertainment, to education and healthcare, to retail and overall productivity; leaving an idelible mark on our daily lives.
Thousands of people are finding themselves locked into unsuitable contracts or hit by cancellation fees when they try to switch, mid-contract, in order to get a better service... Frankly, if you're not getting the service you signed up for, why on earth should you keep paying for it?
"Your entire life is online... and it might be used against you"... The UK has one of the worst records in Europe in terms of cases of identity fraud. In 2012, as many as 25 percent of British citizens claimed to have been a target of identity theft at least once in their lives.


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ATLANTA – Huddle House, a 400-plus-unit full-service family restaurant chain in 21 states, has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement with CEFCO Convenience Stores (CEFCO). CEFCO, a 254-unit convenience store company based in Temple, Texas, will bolster the Huddle House growth plan to add two locations in Mt. Vernon and Jarrell, Texas, the first half of 2013.
“Expanding our restaurants into non-traditional locations supports our growth strategy, which targets unique real estate opportunities, such as convenience stores, truck stops, and travel centers to expand our customer base” said Huddle House CEO Michael Abt. “We are pleased to announce the signing of these initial two locations as it will further the brand’s growing presence and awareness throughout the state of Texas.”
The joint venture appeals to today’s consumer because it provides the advantage of two popular and quality services in one convenient location, according to both companies.
“CEFCO has a long history of taking care of our customers with outstanding service, clean facilities, best-in-class restrooms, great products, and a commitment to the communities we serve,” said Brett Giesick, chief retail officer of CEFCO, who also noted that the company operates in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and New Mexico. “We are just as committed toward providing these same levels of execution to our Huddle House guests.”


text: Leading computer group Acer of Taiwan has pledged support for reuniting the island with mainland China in a bid to fend off Chinese threats to spurn business with the manufacturer. The move by Acer followed a warning from Beijing that it will blacklist Taiwanese companies that "openly clamor for independence." Acer has invested $150 million in China and plans further expansion to benefit from low labor costs. J.T. Wang, Acer's senior manager in China, said the threat reflected a misunderstanding of how Taiwan's pluralistic democracy functions. "We definitely consider this as very serious for Acer in China. We have to be careful and sensitive in our response." Evergreen, a major Taiwanese shipping group that also feels targeted by the Beijing warning, said its corporate policy does not support an independent Taiwan but wants closer economic links with the mainland. A similar view was echoed by the Chi Mei petrochemicals group which stressed it is not involved in politics.


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Guwahati: An employee of the government of Assam stole a mobile phone from a store in Guwahati. Identified as Md. Ali Ashraf, he is the Deputy Director of Town and Country Planning, Government of Assam.
Ashraf's stealing of the phone from the store was recorded in the CCTV footage of the store. Based on the footage, an FIR has been lodged at Satgaon Police Station, Guwahati. The police arrested the accused based on the FIR.
"The deputy director Ali Ashraf has stolen a mobile phone Samsung A-507FZKVINS which was registered in the name of Yash Ahmed, son of Raju Ahmed, an employee of 'Yash Josh' store situated at Baghorbori Tiniali," stated the FIR lodged in the Satgaon Police Station.


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KUWAIT: The Joint Ministerial Committee for the follow up of the current situation in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, headed by Kuwait Municipality’s Director General Ahmad Al-Manfouhi, continued its intense campaign in the area, especially in street 55 in Block 5. In this regard, supervisors at Farwaniya municipality branch, in cooperation with the Public Authority for Manpower and Interior Ministry, carried out a campaign yesterday which resulted in the removal of 36 truckloads of trash, 15 truckloads of used tires, as well as two truckloads of vegetables and fruits that were being sold in unlicensed markets, besides arresting a number of unlicensed butchers. Meanwhile, 16 shops and cafes were closed, while five citations were issued against shops whose owners started their businesses before obtaining municipality approvals. The campaign was headed by Farwaniya branch director Mohammad Sarkhouh, Director of Cleanliness and Road Occupancy Saad Al-Khurainej.
By Meshaal Al-Enezi